The Grace In Darkness (25 page)

Her arms slid around me and she pressed closer into me. She nuzzled her face into the curve of my neck, and seconds later, I felt her warm tears against my skin.

“
Hummingbird? What
’
s wrong? Did anyone hurt you?
”
I ran my hands down her sides and over her back. She shook her head but didn
’
t say anything.
“
Shh, I
’
m here now.
”

I waited, letting her calm down before I tried to talk to her again. Her body trembled against mine, and when the soft sounds of her sobs subsided, I felt it was safe to continue.

“
What happened tonight, Araya?
”

She shook her head.
“
I can
’
t... I don
’
t remember. Everything
’
s so fuzzy. I can remember flashes of conversations. Is that normal when you drink? Something was wrong, Ryland. It didn
’
t feel right—
”

“
Shh, Hummingbird, you
’
re safe now.
”
I ran my fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her.

I wanted to tell her that she
’
d been drugged, but I knew she couldn
’
t handle it right now. She was barely hanging on to her emotions as it was, so I
’
d tell her in the morning.

“
When you didn
’
t show up—
”

“
We don
’
t have to talk about it now, okay? Just get some rest and we
’
ll talk in the morning.
”

“
Okay.
”
She sighed against my neck and my eyes closed in pleasure.

It only took minutes for her body to relax against mine. Her sleepy sighs were a sweet lullaby and I felt my body start to drift to the soft sounds. I didn
’
t know how she knew to go to The Underground, but I realized my destruction had almost been hers as well. Guilt was a brutal and heavy bastard as it settled on my shoulders.

It was hard to ignore the fact that ever since Araya had met me, something bad was always happening to her. Even if it wasn
’
t my intention, I was hurting her, pushing the limits of her strength, and if I broke her, I
’
d never forgive myself.

Even after knowing all that, I was too selfish to let her go. I needed her to breathe, to survive, to exist.

The sun was barely peeking through the window when I shifted awake. Araya was still curled into my side and I realized this was the first time in months that I
’
d actually slept well. It was amazing what one person could do for you.

I glanced over at her, and even after everything she
’
d gone through last night, she looked serene. Her hair was like a slow fire ignited by the small amount of sun in the room. She definitely had me burning to the edge of my being.

As slowly as I could, I got up from the bed and stretched as I made my way toward the bathroom.

I quickly took care of business, washed my hands, and found my toothbrush in the cabinet. I brushed my teeth and leaned over the sink to spit. When I straightened, I saw Sebastian in the mirror.

“
That
’
s pretty creepy, you know,
”
I mumbled around a mouthful of minty foam and then spit again, rinsing my mouth clean.

“
What happened last night?
”

I shrugged.
“
You were right. He wasn
’
t worth it and Araya needed me more.
”

I wiped my mouth and walked past him through the door. A quick peek at Araya told me I had time to at least make her some eggs. And I was pretty sure that
’
s all we had anyway.

“
Good because I wasn
’
t in the mood to deal with the SWAT team when they came to take your stubborn ass away.
”

We were in the kitchen now and I was digging through the fridge for something halfway decent to feed Araya.

“
I don
’
t understand you. You
’
re always poised and ready to strike for any little bullshit reason, and now all of a sudden, you
’
ve grown a conscience? When I actually need you. What gives?
”

“
I told you I would take care of Craze!
”

“
I don
’
t need you to take care of it. I need you to have my back while
I
take care of it!
”

I slammed the fridge door and found a skillet. Within minutes, the kitchen was filled with the aroma of scrambled eggs and bacon.

“
I do have your back! That
’
s why I didn
’
t want you to do anything stupid last night, Ryland!
”

“
Well, nothing happened.
”

Sebastian didn
’
t respond and seconds later, he walked out of the kitchen.

When I walked into the bedroom, Araya was sitting up in the bed. Her head lifted and our eyes connected. I balanced her plate on one hand and held a glass of juice in the other. I felt nervous all of a sudden, and it drove me crazy that she had such an instant effect on me. I kicked the door shut with my foot and walked toward her. Despite how I felt right now, there was one thing I
had
to do before anything else.

“
It smells good,
”
she said politely.

I put down the glass and plate on the nightstand.
“
I
’
m sorry,
”
I said.

“
What—
”

She gasped when I lifted her off the bed and against me. I devoured every detail on her beautiful face. The last couple of days seemed longer than the entire six months we
’
d been apart. No matter what, I wasn
’
t walking away from her again. Physically, I never wanted to, and mentally, I just couldn
’
t do it.

My fingers sank into the soft strands of her hair and her sweet scent overran my senses. I could feel the thud of her heart against my chest. I could see it at the curve of her neck, and I could hear it through the soft pants of breath she took. She smelled like my soap and mint.

Pulling her toward me, I caught her bottom lip between mine and the edges of my teeth raked over the sensitive nerves. She moaned and her fingers gripped my biceps. I ran my tongue over her lip and she leaned into me, pulling me against her at the same time, demanding more. Tilting her head, I gave her what we both needed.

I wrapped her hair in my fist and held her firmly to me, thrusting my tongue into her mouth. She melted into me. Her body hummed the way only she knew how, and it was my undoing. I lowered us onto the bed, fitting my knee between her thighs and covering her with my body.

Her hips lifted, and I used that to push my thigh harder against her. Her body arched off the bed and she moaned into my mouth. Her hands were all over me, tugging on the hem of my shirt until she was able to move her hands under and over my stomach and chest. Her hands felt amazing, and I growled my approval against her neck, biting her skin gently.

“
Ryland, I need you.
”

“
I need you more, Hummingbird.
”

I sat up, pulling my shirt over my head and tossing it away. Looking down at Araya took my breath away. Her red hair fanned out in messy curls above her head. Her cheeks were flushed and her
neck was inflamed from my facial hair. She was breathing fast and hard, clenching the blanket in her fingers. Her shirt was twisted around her and the smooth skin of her stomach teased me.

I moved between her legs and her knees lifted on both sides of me. Running my hands down her thighs, I squeezed her hips and moved up her sides. I pushed her up higher onto the bed and bent over to kiss her stomach. Lifting her shirt higher, I trailed kisses over each part of exposed skin.

Pulling her up toward me, I kissed her hard, my tongue teasing hers. I pulled at her shirt, leaving her lips long enough to pull it off. Wrapping the long strands of her hair around my fist again, my other hand trailed down her back and unfastened the clasp of her bra. Lowering us back down, I groaned when our bare skin touched. My lips left hers and she whimpered in disappointment.

“
I need to look at you, Hummingbird.
”

“
Not fair,
”
she mumbled, and I smirked.

Glancing down between our bodies, I had to count to ten. Otherwise, I wasn
’
t going to be able to take it slow like I wanted to. The last time went way too fast.

Pulling her hands above her head, I whispered against the side of her neck,
“
Don
’
t move.
”

“
You
’
re killing me.
”

“
I
’
m not doing anything to you that I
’
m not doing to myself, Hummingbird. Don
’
t move,
”
I repeated. I blew lightly on her skin and she shivered.
“
Do you like that?
”
I didn
’
t move while I waited for her answer. I bit the spot between her breasts and she cried out, arching her back.

“
Yes!
”
she moaned.

“
Good. Me too.
”

I licked and blew on her skin between her breasts and down her stomach, stopping to unbutton and remove her shorts. I bit the spot below her belly button and her body twisted.

“
Ryland, please,
”
she begged.

Moving up her body, I took her nipple between my lips and sucked. Her responses were addicting and I sucked harder. She lifted and grabbed at my hair with her fingers, holding me tight. I smiled and my tongue twisted around the hard bud. She was twisting and straining under me by the time I moved to the other side, repeating the same torture.

When I knew neither of us could take any more, I lifted above her, but she had other plans. Before I knew what she was doing, she shoved me on my back and climbed on top of me. Her hair spilled down the side of her shoulders and across my chest as she leaned over to place feather-light kisses across my heated skin.